


[unfinished ficlets]

by plincess_cho (ai_hao)



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ, JYJ (Band), NCT (Band), SHINee, Super Junior
Genre: Author: Ai, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-30 16:45:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6432364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ai_hao/pseuds/plincess_cho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the title implies, all of these are unfinished. Maybe they'll be finished someday but for now, they're in the fic graveyard D:</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. changkyu | wings

Kyuhyun remembered the day he first found out about Changmin’s secret gift. In retrospect, he should have realized something was awry earlier: Changmin refused to bare his chest (not a crime in and of itself; Kyuhyun too was averse to going shirtless in public) and shied away from any attempt to touch his back. One could stroke his legs or poke his sides or even kick him in the balls and he wouldn’t get as upset as he did when someone touched his back or his shoulders. Kyuhyun wondered if he had some sort of scar that ravaged his shoulder blades. Kyuhyun understood scars.

He had asked once. Changmin had unconvincingly replied, “Th-that’s right: it’s a scar.”

Kyuhyun didn’t push it further. If Changmin didn’t want to tell him, he didn’t need to know.

*

The day he found out, there had been a torrential rainstorm. His biochem lab had gotten out late and he’d forgotten an umbrella, Kyuhyun opened the door into their shared apartment before tromping in with sodden tennis shoes. He slipped out of his shoes and rain jacket and went to set his wet things in the bathtub so they wouldn’t leave puddles on the floor. The door was slightly ajar and the lights were off, so Kyuhyun didn’t think twice about pushing the door open.

When he saw what was inside, he instinctively stumbled backwards and held out his dripping shoes as if wielding a weapon. “What the hell!” he yelled at the thing inside the bathroom. “Who are you and what…” His voice trailed off as the being in question turned around.

There stood his roommate, bloody and bruised. He was shirtless, and his torso was covered in a series of lacerations and scrapes. But what caught Kyuhyun’s attention was the pair of what looked to be phosphorescent wings that cast an eerie glow around the bathroom. Both wings were [finish]

 

“How long have you had them?” Kyuhyun asked quietly. He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out some bandages and hydrogen peroxide.

“As long as I can remember,” Changmin replied. “I guess I’ve had them since I was born.”

“So it’s genetic,” Kyuhyun said, a statement, not a question. He uncaps the bottle and gently pours some peroxide onto a washcloth. He motions for Changmin to come closer and presses the washcloth against the scrapes on Changmin’s torso.


	2. eunhae | pre-enlistment

When the doorbell rings, Hyukjae isn’t even surprised, and neither is the rest of his family. They’d spent the past week together, savoring his last few moments with them, and frankly had expected this to come much earlier. Mama Lee gets up from the table and opens the door to find Donghae standing in the hallway, carrying a basket of fruits. “Hi, Mom,” he says, offering the basket to her. 

She takes it quickly and passes it off to Papa Lee who has also gotten up. “It’s so good to see you,” she says, embracing him. 

“I hope you’ve been healthy,” Donghae replies, nodding to Papa Lee and Sora as well. 

Mama Lee steps back to evaluate him. “You’ve gotten skinnier,” she says, clicking her tongue disapprovingly.

“That’s because he hasn’t been working out,” Hyukjae calls. “The fans don’t like it,” he says with a smirk.

“No, _you_  don’t like it,” Donghae replies. He goes down the line of Lees, hugging Papa Lee and Sora before engulfing Hyukjae in a bear hug. Hyukjae already wants to cry, and Donghae’s only been there for a grand total of sixty seconds.

Mama Lee invites Donghae to eat with them and goes to slice some of the oranges for the table. The rest of  Hyukjae’s family asks Donghae about his family, about what he’s been up to since finishing schedules, and finally, about enlistment.

Hyukjae gets up to start clearing the plates so nobody will see the tears threatening to fall. His mother helps him and joins him in the kitchen. She gently takes a dish out of his hands before pulling him into her arms. Hyukjae holds on tight and starts to cry. “I don’t want to say goodbye,” he whispers.

“I know,” his mother replies, starting to tear up as well. 

“We’ve spent almost fifteen years together,” Hyukjae says. “Fifteen _years_.”

“I know, I know,” his mother says.

Donghae hears them and comes into the kitchen. Mama Lee sees him and gently lets go of her son before handing him to Donghae. Donghae starts crying as well and holds tightly onto Hyukjae. 

 

 


	3. 2hee | coffeeshop au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ‘You’re the customer and you get back at me for all the times I’ve spelt your name wrong by mispronouncing my name in increasingly horrible ways’ AU
> 
> ‘Your love of strawberry shortcake really doesn’t match your appearance but i still think that’s really cute’ AU

“Welcome to Lost Bean!” Zhou Mi chirps happily over the top of the espresso machines as the little bell above the door jingles. A man dressed in a white and red graphic tee and red cap with red headphones walks in and stares up at the menu. Zhou Mi can’t help but chuckle: his bleach blonde hair is cut almost exactly like his fellow barista’s.

“What can I get for you?” Gunhee asks, pulling up the ordering menu on the console in front of him. “Our special is a light roast with–”

“Nah, I don’t drink coffee,” the man interrupts. “Do you have anything that’s not as bitter?”

Gunhee is slightly disappointed he didn’t ask “Do you have anything that’s sweeter?” because that would’ve been the _perfect_  opening for a pickup line, but alas. “We have a variety of hot chocolates, or if you’d prefer something colder on this hot day,” _Hot like me,_  he thinks to himself, “we have some blended frappuccinos without coffee.”

“Great, I’ll take one of those,” he replies. He pulls his wallet out of his backpack and starts counting out 1000 won bills.

“Uhm, excuse me, which flavor would you like?” Zhou Mi asks. 

“Just give me whatever,” he replies.

Gunhee tries not to roll his eyes in distaste. His least favorite types of customers are customers who (a) interrupt him and (b) refuse to decide on their drink order. So far this guy has done _both_  of those things in the past sixty seconds. “What’s your name?”

“Heechul,” the guy says.

Gunhee grabs a plastic cup from the stack next to him and scribbles something mostly unintelligible on the side before handing it to Zhou Mi. He takes the bills off the counter and rings up Heechul’s order. When he looks up to hand Heechul his change, the customer is already playing some stupid game on his phone. “Uh your change?” Gunhee says.

Heechul reaches out to take it and is about to put it in his pocket, when he remembers that he’s wearing white and blue printed leggings that have no pockets.

Zhou Mi stirs up Heechul’s frappuccino and goes to call Heechul’s name, but he can’t really read what Gunhee wrote on the side. “Uh… Hweecheut?” he tries.

 “It’s Heechul,” Heechul says, talking his drink from Zhou Mi and side-eyeing Gunhee.

Gunhee ignores him.

Once Heechul is seated out of earshot, Zhou Mi bustles over to Gunhee. “You guys are _so perfect_!”

Gunhee eyes him suspiciously. “Mi, I think your matchmaking skills have gotten a little rusty if you think that that jerk and I are perfect together.”

“But you have _matching haircuts_ ,” Zhou Mi replies, as if that explains everything.

Gunhee just rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say, kid.”

*

Later that afternoon, they’re putting up their new boards to advertise their new special: Strawberry Shortcake Frappuccinos. Zhou Mi had tried to convince Gunhee that they should use the cartoon character Strawberry Shortcake in their promotions, but Gunhee had vetoed that idea. 

“You do remember that most of our customers come from the video game development company that takes up half this building, right?” Gunhee had asked.

In the end, Zhou Mi had conceded to using characters from some anime he’d never heard of, as long as they could be cute. The resulting promotion board managed to be cute enough for his liking, but he still pouted over the lack of the Strawberry Shortcake character.


	4. teukhae | when it rains

As he watches the rain drops patter against the window, Donghae remembers rainy days as a child. On rainy days, his father would stop all of his work and play with Donghae while Donghwa was at school. Sometimes, his father would urge Donghae into his galoshes and they’d run out into the rain together to stomp through puddles and splash through the rivers of rainwater flowing down the streets. After they were both thoroughly drenched, they’d wade back to their apartment and leave their wet boots and clothes in a pile outside the door before bundling up in warm towels. They’d sit close to the heater and Donghae would shiver. His father would hold him close and together, they’d watch the rain fall.

Donghae looks over at his father’s sleeping figure and smiles weakly. He wishes he could pull his father up from the hospital bed and through through the streets of Seoul with him again, if only for a day. _Someday soon,_  he tells himself. _Someday soon._

*

It rains the day of the funeral, and Donghae wonders if the sun will ever shine again. His mother grips his hand tightly and buries her face in Donghwa’s shoulder as her tears flow. Donghae can feel his own hot salty tears on his face and can’t help but think how different they feel from the cool raindrops. His tears burn so hot against his cheeks that the cool stormy air can’t ease the pain he feels.

Leeteuk finds him after the ceremony and pulls him into his arms. Donghae holds on tightly and lets the rain drench them both.

*

Leeteuk notices that Donghae always gets moody when it rains. He’ll sit by the window with his headphones on and ignore the rest of the world. One of the mangers goes over to talk to him, but Donghae doesn’t respond.

After a few months of this happening, Leeteuk’s curiosity gets the best of him. The next time it rains, he sits on the ledge by the window next to Donghae and stares out at the soggy streets below. Soft music leaks out of Donghae’s headphones and Leeteuk wonders what he’s listening to. 

An hour passes, and Leeteuk wonders if Donghae’s even noticed his presence. Finally, he nudges Donghae’s arm gently. “Hae?”

“Mm,” Donghae replies, slipping his headphones off. 

“Whatcha listening to?”

Donghae shows him the tiny screen on his MP3 player. 


	5. qmi | whispers.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really want to finish this. Someday.

Zhou Mi nervously flattened his hair over his ears, hoping desperately that his hearing aids were hidden. He’d been sorely tempted to leave them at home, but he couldn’t take the risk of seeming disrespectful by not listening. He walked into the building for his audition and tried not to throw up.

“Why do you want to be a singer?” they asked him.

Zhou Mi didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to tell them that music was more than a combination of sounds: it was a beautiful symphony of sounds, vibrations, feelings, and emotions. As someone with hearing loss, Zhou Mi appreciated the other aspects of music more than anyone else. He wanted to tell them how his mother found him crying one night, the night after they found out his hearing was fading. “Mom,” he’d sobbed, “I won’t be able to hear _music_.”

But instead of hugging him close and telling him it would all be okay, his mother gently tugged him out of bed and brought him over to his father’s old speakers, the ones they only turned on during New Year or the Autumn Festival. His mother turned the dials on the set and placed his hands against the speakers.

And in that moment, he could _feel_  the music. The speaker pulsed with the emotions of the song and the rise and fall of the instruments. Zhou Mi’s face lit up as he realized what this meant, and his shining eyes darted up to meet his mother’s soft smile.

“You may not be able to hear music, but you’ll always be able to feel it,” she said gently.

“For me,” Zhou Mi told the SM Entertainment representatives, “music is more than just a combination of notes. Without emotion, without _feeling_ , my songs are lifeless and empty. But I hope to become a singer who can communicate true experiences to others.”

The representatives nodded to themselves and motioned for him to sing.

*

Zhou Mi officially met Kyuhyun at dinner after dance practice one day in a loud, crowded restaurant. Everyone started talking over each other and Zhou Mi nearly went insane trying to understand everyone. Finally, he just gave up and poked at the food on his plate as if the meat on his chopsticks was really _that_  entertaining.

Then, a gentle hand pressed against his shoulder and he looked up to see a skinny boy holding out a piece of pork with his chopsticks. The boy looked him right in the eye and said, “For you,” in very clear, precise words.

Zhou Mi took the pork chop gratefully and scooted a bit closer. “My name’s Zhou Mi,” he introduced himself through a mouth of pork.

“Mine is Kyuhyun,” the other boy replied. “Did you just join SM?”

Zhou Mi nodded. “I’m going to be a singer, but they wanted me to try dancing too.”

“Same,” Kyuhyun responded. Zhou Mi noticed that whenever Kyuhyun talked to him, he made sure that Zhou Mi was looking right at him before he spoke. Zhou Mi found that a bit odd, but then he realized.

_Kyuhyun knew._

He hurriedly tried to pull his hair over his hearing aids as his face turned a bright red, and Kyuhyun had the decency to pretend not to notice. 

*

“So, how long have you had them for?” Kyuhyun asked as they were walking back to the dorms one day.

“Had what?” Zhou Mi replied in confusion. He held up the box of chocopies in his hand. “I bought these five minutes ago. You were with me!”

“Not those!” Kyuhyun said. “These!” he pointed right at Zhou Mi’s ears.

“Uhm,” Zhou Mi’s face turned bright red. “I… I…” he stuttered.

“It’s no big deal,” Kyuhyun said. “My sister has them. Always had.”

“Oh,” Zhou Mi replied, his embarrassment fading slightly. “I’ve had them since I was little.”

“How bad is it?” Kyuhyun asked nonchalantly. He peeled the wrapper off the ice cream bar in his hand.

“It’s… It’s getting worse,” Zhou Mi stumbled over his words a bit. No one had _ever_  asked him so point blank about his hearing aids, let alone in such a casual manner. He’d been teased about them relentlessly in school, and now it was hard to believe someone actually wanted to know. “The doctor say that I’ll be fully deaf sooner than later.”

“Bet you sleep pretty well in the dorms,” Kyuhyun said with a laugh. “Don’t have to listen to Leeteuk and Heechul screaming at all hours of the night.”

“Yeah,” Zhou Mi replied with a nervous giggle. “I guess I do.”

*

Kyuhyun first realizes just how poor Zhou Mi’s hearing is when they’re onstage as SJM for the first time. 


	6. super junior | ten

keeps his head down and pulls the brim of his hat further down over his face. He walks through the familiar hallways up to the room on the third floor painted like the sky.

 _It looks like the wall in_ Toy Story _, Andy’s room,_  he thinks to himself. And so it does. A wave of memories rushes over him: late nights running through choreo over and over, collapsing onto the floor with the members, passing around bento boxes and arguing over what takeout to order later.

He pushes the door open and peeks inside. They don’t notice him at first because they’re all standing in a circle discussing something. Jungsoo closes the door behind him and for the first time in over a year, he becomes Super Junior’s Leeteuk again.

“Hyung!” Siwon notices him first. The other members look up and suddenly he’s surrounded by jabbering voices and grabby arms. 

“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?”  
“You look much thinner.”  
“Unlike Kangin.”  
“Ya!”  
“Boys, settle down.”  
“So… are we ordering takeout?”  
“Give Teukkie a chance to breathe!” 

The boys obediently step back, all except for Donghae who clings to the leader’s side. 

“How’s army, hyung?” Shindong asks, but Leeteuk shrugs him off. “Tell me about this choreo.”

They all talk at the same time, a cacophony of voices and nonsense, but Leeteuk finally feels like he’s come home. He’d seen his mother and sister earlier, and while it was nice to be back with them, he knew his place was here with the boys.

“TVXQ just celebrated their tenth anniversary,” Eunhyuk says. “They’re having big celebrations in Korea and Japan and just released an album.”

“Wow,” Leeteuk says. He should be impressed, but this is _TVXQ_. Of course SM are going to pull out all the stops for them.

“We’ll hit ten years in 22 months,” Kyuhyun says. “I wonder what we’ll do for our tenth anniversary.”

None of them say it, but they’re all holding their breath.

*

Yunho finds him a few days after his official discharge from the military. “Hyung!” he exclaims and pulls Leeteuk into a hug. “It’s been weird around here without you. Really weird.”

“It’s good to be back,” Leeteuk says. “And congratulations on ten years! I know it’s a bit late, but you guys deserve congratulations all the same. That’s a big accomplishment.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Yunho says. “You taught me how to be a leader, even when things are hard.” He pauses. “The boys really missed you,” he says. “ _I_ really missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Leeteuk says, a little taken aback by Yunho’s sudden praise.

“Once you get adjusted to being back and everything, you… you should talk to Junmyeon. Changmin and Kyuhyun are helping him through Kris leaving but I think he needs a leader’s words.”

“But you’re a leader!” Leeteuk exclaims. “Let’s talk to him together.”

Leeteuk remembers hearing about Kris leaving EXO. He’d found out from Eunhyuk while in the military. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Eunhyuk sent him letters almost weekly, asking for advice, updating him on things that had happened, and… and thanking him for his many years of leadership.

_It’s hard, hyung. I’m not going to pretend it’s not. I don’t know how you did it for so many years without breaking. Thank you… Really._

_Junmyeonnie spends a lot of time in our dorm now with Kyuhyun and Changmin. Kris left… They woke up one day and he was gone. Kind of like something we experienced, yet? He asks for advice, but I’m not sure what to tell him. I try to think like you, to think of what you would say._

_Come back soon, hyung ^^ We miss you._

That scrap of paper is hidden in Leeteuk’s dorm room, tucked between the pages of a book that he’s never read, with tear stains blurring the ink.

*

Leeteuk runs straight from filming to the leaders’ meeting, nearly taking out one of the trainees in his mad dash to the room. He slides in right as the clock hits three, and Yunho waves him over. Leeteuk plops down in the seat next to him and tries to catch his breath.

They’re talking about upcoming releases for the different groups. TVXQ are headed to Japan again, no surprise there. SHINee have a Japanese single and a Korean EP, in addition to Jonghyun’s album. Red Velvet (or as Heechul calls them, “the boo-yah kids”) are coming out with their first mini album, and f(x)’s Amber is preparing for a solo debut. EXO, SM’s golden child, have a full-length and a repackage. “And maybe something else, we’ll see,” says the exec at the other end of the table.

He’s about to move onto the next topic when Leeteuk interrupts, “Excuse me, sir, but what about Super Junior?”

The executive looks confused. “You just had an album,” he says. 

“Yes,” Leeteuk replies. “But we have five members enlisting this year. Plus, our tenth anniversary is in November.”

“Oh, right,” the executive says, looking down at his papers. He scribbles something down on a scrap and shoves it in his pocket. “We’ll… we’ll let you know.”

Leeteuk tries not to let his shoulders sag too much. He should be used to this by now, but every time it happens, it still seems so _unfair._

“That’s right!” Yunho exclaims suddenly from beside him. “2015 _will_  be your tenth anniversary. A very big accomplishment!”

Their juniors all nod in agreement, and Leeteuk smiles at them. Yunho nudges him with his shoulder and whispers, _Don’t worry._  Leeteuk wants to say he won’t, but he can’t lie. Not to Yunho.

*

The company finally puts 8jib on the calendar, slated for third or fourth quarter. Leeteuk wants to argue that that’s hardly enough time for their fans to support their album before award season, but he’s already given up on that battle. Better to have _something_  release than another year without any group activities.

But the tenth anniversary thing is still an issue. The members ask him every other day it seems. 

“Do we have any plans?”  
“Are we releasing an album for it?”  
“Maybe we can go on vacation again!”  
“Do you think we’ll get to celebrate in Korea _and_  China?”

But every time Leeteuk has to reply, “I don’t know.”

*

In the spring, Yunho tells him he’ll be enlisting in the summer. “I can’t put it off any longer,” he says. “I don’t want to go but… I have to do my duty to my country.”

Leeteuk claps him on the shoulder. “You’ll be great,” he assures him. “Trust me.”

Yunho smiles at the praise but then his face drops again. “Changmin’s talked about going after his drama finishes.”

“I… I guess that makes sense,” Leeteuk says. “Kyuhyun won’t be happy.”

“No,” Yunho replies. “I know they wanted to go at the same time, but…”

“But this is better for TVXQ, I know. He’ll understand.”

“Besides,” Yunho replies, trying to lighten the mood. “You’ll all be busy with activities like usual. You don’t need us around for your tenth anniversary!”

Leeteuk doesn’t have the heart to tell Yunho that SM is _still_  refusing to do anything. “Why don’t you come up with a proposal, and we’ll consider it,” one of the executives had said. Leeteuk wanted to scream at him.

_WE’RE THE TOP GROSSING GROUP IN THIS COMPANY, NO, THE COUNTRY, AND YOU STILL TREAT US LIKE GARBAGE?_

But he doesn’t. He’s got a band to lead and he doesn’t need to burn any more bridges. The company hadn’t reacted to his family tragedy well. Nobody had, of course, but they almost _blamed_  him for it. Leeteuk was so furious and hurt that the members escorted him out while Heechul flew off the handle at the executives. 

*

“So let me get this straight,” Kangin says. They’re all sitting in the living room on the sixth floor. Leeteuk looks around and, not for the first time, realizes just how few members there really are. Shindong and Sungmin enlisted earlier in the year, and it still doesn’t seem real. “We have to prepare a proposal for an album, including choreography, theme, and composition, and the company will _consider_  releasing it? Bullshit.”

Leeteuk feels so helpless. He wishes he could tell the members something better.


	7. qmichul | fairy godmother

If you had asked Kyuhyun on Tuesday whether or not he believed in fairies, he would’ve answered with a definitive no. He would’ve given you the same response had you asked about ghosts, Bigfoot, or the Loch Ness Monster. He would’ve given you a “maybe” on the zombies seeing how his roommate slept-walked. But fairies? Definitely no.

But today was Wednesday. Perhaps the weirdest Wednesday of Kyuhyun’s life to date. You see, he’d woken up to the sound of voices in his kitchen, which wasn’t _too_ weird considering how his roommate often had, uhm, _guests_ sleep over, but these were two male voices. Not that he was keeping track, but so far Changmin had only brought home girls.

Kyuhyun dragged himself out of bed and was about to go yell at whoever had disturbed his slumber, but he stopped short at the door once he heard his name.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” a very crisp voice asked. “This doesn’t seem like a national ambassador’s living quarters.”

_National ambassador?_

“Who cares,” a raspier voice replied. Kyuhyun heard the fridge open and a bit of rummaging. “Is there any food?”

“Heechul!” the first voice exclaimed in shock. “You can’t go through other people’s refrigerators! Especially when you haven’t been invited in to their home in the first place!”

“Shush, I’m hungry,” the second voice said. “Oh I think this is alcohol.”

“ _Heechul!_ ” the first voice was scandalized.

Kyuhyun decided he needed to intervene before the intruders stole his wine. He threw open the door and charged into the kitchen to find two… blobs. Kyuhyun cursed himself for not remembering to grab his glasses before running out, but he continued on anyways. “Who the hell are you?” he growled at the blobs.

The taller blob spoke first. “Oh!” his voice came out in a squeak. “I’m sorry, I think we’re in the wrong place.”

“How did you get in here?” Kyuhyun asked. _Did Changmin forget to lock the door again?_ Drunk Changmin was not very keen on apartment security. In fact, it was a miracle that he managed to get _in_ to their apartment when he was hammered.

“We, uhm, well, you see…” the tall blob squeaked.

“Are you Cho Kyuhyun?” the shorter blob interrupted.

“Depends who’s asking,” Kyuhyun replied, narrowing his eyes. He hoped he looked intimidating, but it was a little hard to be ferocious when he couldn’t _really_ see and when he wasn’t even wearing pajamas.

“Let’s see, 180 centimeters, 75 kilograms, 22 years old, looks like a loser… he matches his driver’s license,” the short blob said.

“What the hell?” Kyuhyun growled. He charged towards the shorter blob but it sidestepped him. The taller blob grabbed him before he fell and gently pushed him back onto his feet.

“Oh! You’ve forgotten your glasses!” the tall blob said. There was a _poof_ and suddenly, Kyuhyun felt a familiar weight on the bridge of his nose. His vision instantly cleared and realized he was wearing his glasses, but how they’d gotten onto his face, he had no idea.

Now that he could see the two figures clearly, he was even more confused as to who they were and why they were in his apartment. The taller blob was actually not a blob at all, but an impeccably dressed man with dark rimmed glasses, brown jacket, white tee, and fitted jeans. The other blob was more of a blob. He wore a backwards red cap, red headphones around his neck, a t-shirt with what looked to be an anime character, and white and lavender leggings. “What. The. Hell.”

“Maybe we should just tell him,” the taller one said. The other shrugged and didn’t answer, so he continued. “Well, uh, if you’re Kyuhyun, then we’re sort of… your fairy godmothers.”

If Kyuhyun had been drinking the alcohol the shorter one was _still_ holding, he would’ve spit it out over them. _“What?!”_ he exclaimed. Maybe he’s still drunk. Maybe he’s still asleep. Maybe he’s dead.

“My name is Zhou Mi,” he continued, “and this is Heechul.” He gestured to the other one. “And we’re your fair godmothers!” he repeated, a bit more enthusiastically.

“Aren’t fairy godmothers supposed to be, you know, _female_?” Kyuhyun asked, eyeing the two men suspiciously.

“How do you know we’re not?” Heechul asked with a smirk.


	8. 2hee | kitties

Gunhee first meets the small, gray cat when Heechul is enlisted in the army. They first reunite at a smoky restaurant with some of their other friends from high school. “Younghoon?” Heechul calls as Gunhee walks in, holding up a bottle of soju.

“I’m Gunhee now,” he replies. He sits down next to Heechul and calls for the restaurant auntie to bring him a bottle as well.

They both wander back to Heechul’s place, only half drunk. Heechul sticks his key in the lock and opens the door slowly. Gunhee laughs, “What, is your girlfriend going to pop out?”

“No, but my cat might,” Heechul says. Assured that Heebum isn’t going to escape (he’d had plenty of chances before and had yet to take them, so Heechul figured he was safe), he walks in and motions for Gunhee to follow.

They basically drink through all of Heechul’s fridge; not a difficult task considering the contents of his fridge consist of soju, water, more soju, a can of corn, and cat food. Heechul is just about hammered and pulls himself up onto his bed to sleep. Gunhee’s not drunk enough to crawl onto the bed with him and decides to sleep on the floor instead.

He wakes up to Heebum sniffing his crotch. Gunhee sits up and rubs his temples. “I think your cat’s a pervert,” he says, shooing Heebum away.

“Takes one to know one,” Heechul replies.

 

*

 

Gunhee isn’t exactly sure why, but Heechul’s cat decided it likes him. It starts when Gunhee comes over to the Super Junior dorms to watch a movie. (“Please tell me it isn’t _Frozen_ ,” he grumbles. It is.) Heebum first crawls onto Heechul’s legs and sits there expressionless for awhile, swishing his tail over Heechul’s calves.

It works nicely for awhile until Heechul decides to suddenly jump up to sing “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” in really terrible English, throwing Heebum off quite abruptly. The cat scrambles to its feet before hissing at Heechul. He jumps up onto the spot Heechul just vacated and eyes Gunhee warily. “Don’t worry,” Gunhee says, “I’m not an idiot like that one. Just don’t stick your nose in my crotch.”

“Watch out for his claws,” Heechul says, ending his musical number.

“I don’t even want to know,” Gunhee replies.


	9. kyuline | mr. snuffles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: “You need to stop leaving dead bodies in my kitchen.”

“That’s a cat,” Changmin says.

“Yes,” Minho replies, holding the ball of fur in his hands.

“You brought home a cat.”

“Yes,” Minho repeats.

“Why?” Kyuhyun and Changmin ask for the third time that morning.

“He needed a home!” Minho replies, again, for the third time. He holds up the very crabby looking cat and says, “Isn’t he cute?”

“No,” the hyungs reply at the same time.

“Well I like him,” Minho says with a pout. “Come on, Mr. Snuffles, let’s get you all set up.” He picks up the bag of cat supplies and walks past the hyungs into the main part of their apartment.

“Mr. Snuffles?” Changmin asks. He looks mildly horrified.

“Just don’t let the cat in my room!” Kyuhyun calls after him.

 

After three days for Kyuhyun and three hours for Changmin, they both decide that they hate the cat. The cat also decides that it hates them. Minho insists that isn’t the case, but Kyuhyun and Changmin disagree.

Any time Minho is in the room, Mr. Snuffles will curl up in Minho’s lap and insist Minho pet him incessantly. Minho of course is only too happy to oblige. He’ll put on a soccer game and stroke the cat for hours. Mr. Snuffles doesn’t even mind when Minho throws him off his lap every so often to yell at the television. The cat follows him _everywhere_. Whenever Minho leaves and Mr. Snuffles can’t go with him, the cat will stalk around the apartment until he returns. Any time Changmin crosses Mr. Snuffles, the cat hisses at him until Changmin goes away.

“I hate that cat,” Changmin informs Kyuhyun.

“I know,” Kyuhyun replies, “but Minho likes it so I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”

“What if we—“

“No,” Kyuhyun interrupts. “Whatever you’re going to say, no.”

 

It starts to get colder and that means rodents from outside start gnawing their way into the boys’ apartment building. Kyuhyun finds the first dead mouse lying in the middle of the kitchen floor and freaks the hell out. “ _Minho!_ ” he screams in a very unmanly voice.

Minho appears from around the corner. “What? What happened?”

Kyuhyun just points at the dead mouse and orders, “Deal with it.”

Using a plastic bag and the dustpan, Minho gingerly scoops the dead mouse into the bag and is about to toss it into the kitchen trash when Kyuhyun exclaims, “Don’t put it in there! Take it out to the dumpster!”

Minho does as he’s told and right as the door shuts behind him, Mr. Snuffles slinks out, looking quite proud of himself.

“I know you did this,” Kyuhyun glares at the cat.

Mr. Snuffles just ignores him.

 

They put up with the cat because they love Minho. Kyuhyun is 95% sure that they’d _never_ let Junmyeon keep a cat they hated if he’d been their third roommate. Even though neither of them wants to admit it, they will _always_ indulge Minho, and unfortunately, he knows it.

So it’s no surprise that Minho informs them he’s going away for the week on a trip for work.

 


	10. changkyu | parallel universes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a discussion with Kyuhyun about parallel universes, Changmin wakes up in a universe parallel to his own. He finds out that in this reality, DBSK never broke up, Super Junior did, and he hasn't talked to Kyuhyun in 8 years. 
> 
> At first, he wants nothing more than to get back to his own reality, but then he realizes that Yunho is happy and hasn't had to go through all the pain of the breakup from before. Kyuhyun's on his way to becoming a lawyer, and he's engaged to the girl of his dreams. Everything seems better in this reality. Different, but better.
> 
> But then Changmin realizes things aren't what they seem. He overhears JYJ talking about leaving, but the fallout this time will be astronomically worse than before. He catches Kyuhyun's fiancee in the arms of another. And he realizes that he can't avoid the heartbreak from before.

"Look, there's no such thing as a parallel universe," Changmin says. 

Kyuhyun sighs in exasperation. "Okay, then riddle me this. Remember those books we read as kids? The ones with the bear family? What were they called?"

"The bear family?" Changmin thinks for a moment. "Uhh.. the Berenstein Bears."

"And how do you spell that?"

Changmin doesn't really see where this is going, but he humors Kyuhyun anyways. "B-E-R-E-N-S-T-E-I-N."

"Wrong," Kyuhyun replies, "Though that's how I spelled it too, so clearly you and I are from the same alternate universe at least." He types into his laptop before swiveling his computer around to face Changmin. "Check it out."

"B-E-R-E-N-S-T-A--wait, A?"

Kyuhyun nods. "Exactly. Except you and I both clearly remember spelling Berenstain with an E."

"Well, I wouldn't say _clearly_ , but go on."

Kyuhyun does. "So how was this family the BerenstEin family when we were kids, but the BerenstAin family now? Easy: we shifted from the E universe to the A universe somewhere between 1995 and today."

Changmin rolls his eyes. "Really? That's the best you've got?"

Kyuhyun pulls his computer back. "It makes complete sense. Once you think through quantum physics, the concept of deja vu, black holes, and the bear family, it all makes sense really."

"And you've had time to 'think through' quantum physics?" Changmin asks, taking another swig of his beer. 

"I'm just saying," Kyuhyun replies. "Do your own research, Shim. I just hope there's an alternate universe where you're less of a dick."

"Not likely," Minho calls from the couch. "There's likely not even a universe where he successfully convinces a girl to sleep with him either."

"Hey!" Changmin lunges for Minho while Kyuhyun laughs in the background.

That night as he's falling asleep, Changmin thinks about what Kyuhyun had said. _What if there are parallel universes?_ He wonders. Then he remembers that his beloved best friend is getting his PhD in _music_ , not quantum physics, and decides that sleep is more important than figuring out the secrets of the universe.

*

When Changmin wakes up the next morning, he immediately senses that something is off. He opens his eyes and realizes that he's not in his apartment nor Kyuhyun's dorm. He sits up and looks around. 

_What the fuck._

He's in the old DBSK dorms from before they moved out after the split, but the dorms look different than he remembers. The bedspread is the same one he has in his apartment, not the one he had back then. The travel books he and Kyuhyun had been poring over the night before sit on the desk by the window.

"Kyuhyun, if this is some sort of prank, I'm going to murder you," Changmin mutters under his breath. He slips his feet into the slippers by his bed and pads out into the main area.

The words leave his mouth before he can stop them. "What the fuck do you think you're doing here?"

Four heads look up from their breakfast to stare at him. 

"Jae made breakfast," Yunho explains gently. "Is something wrong, Changdola?"

"Yes, something is fucking _wrong_. These traitors," he points towards Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu, "jumped ship and left us to drown back in 2010.”

The four all give him matching expressions of confusion. 

"Changmin, what are you talking about?" Junsu asks. "We never left you guys. What are you talking about?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jaejoong asks. "Maybe a bit hung over from your night out with Minho?”

Changmin snorts. “Minho drinks like a little girl. Kyuhyun’s the only one who’s ever given me competition.”

The guys all exchange looks.

“What?” Changmin asks, growing more and more uneasy by the second. _What the fuck is happening?_

“Kyuhyun, you mean Cho Kyuhyun?” Yoochun asks.

“Of course,” Changmin replies. “I don’t know any other Kyuhyuns.”

“When was the last time you saw Kyuhyun?” Junsu asks.

“Last night,” Changmin says. “We were at the Super Junior dorms together. Well it’s not really the Super Junior dorms I suppose since they’re all moving out before enlistment, but…” his voice trails off.

“Changmin, are you alright?” Yunho asks. He stands up from the table and walks over to Changmin. He presses his hand against Changmin’s temple. “You don’t seem to have a fever.”

“Why would I have a fever?” Changmin replies. “You’re the ones playing some elaborate prank on me! Ha-ha, so funny, where’s the camera?”

“There’s no camera,” Jaejoong says. 

“Right,” Changmin scoffs. “Where’d you learn that trick? Super Junior?”

Now all four of the guys are standing around, looking at Changmin in concern, but nobody speaks. They all turn to Yunho and hope that he’ll say something so the rest of them won’t have to.”

“Chandola,” Yunho says gently. “You’re starting to worry us.”

“Why?” Changmin says, pulling back. “You’re the one who brought these three in and brought us back to our old dorms and somehow recreated my room. Really, it’s not funny anymore. I know it’s a prank!” he’s practically yelling.

“Changmin, this isn’t a prank!” Yoochun exclaims. He reaches out to steady Changmin, but he pulls away and storms back to his room. “I’m going to call Kyuhyun.”  
He pulls out his phone and searches for Kyuhyun’s name in his contact list. Oddly enough, the name is no longer there. He groans and tries to remember what Kyuhyun’s most recent phone number is. He dials the numbers and hopes he remembered them correctly.

“Hello?”

“Kyuhyun!”

There’s a pause. “I’m sorry, who is this?”

“I’m not in the mood,” Changmin shoots back. “Where are you?”

“Who are you?” 

“I’m Changmin, you bastard!”

The line goes silent. “Changmin, like TVXQ Changmin?”

“Yes that Changmin,” he replies in frustration. “Your best friend. Ring a bell?”

There’s another pause. “Changmin, I haven’t talked to you in eight years.”


	11. homin | christmas angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changmin is a misbehaving angel sent to earth to learn how to use his powers for good, not mischief. Yunho is a dance teacher who loves Christmas more than anything else in the world. Their paths cross and Yunho teaches Changmin what love is all about.

Yunho pushes open the door to the dance studio and is greeted with a welcome burst of warm air. He hurries down the hall to the locker rooms and quickly changes from his winter wear into his practice clothes. He grimaces as he hangs up his jacket as he spies another seam coming loose. He makes a mental note to patch up the sleeve when he gets home and sighs. In reality, this particular article of clothing ceased being a jacket long ago. Instead, it is an amalgamation of patches in the form of a jacket, but Yunho is grateful for it all the same. He’s been saving to buy a new winter coat for some time now, and hopefully he’ll be able to save enough from his next paycheck or two to finally purchase one in an after-Christmas sale.

_Christmas._

Anyone who knows Jung Yunho knows that he absolutely adores Christmas. He loves the decorations, the festive atmosphere, the special midnight mass, and the spirit of giving. Christmas had been the most special time of year for him growing up. All of his family would gather together to exchange gifts and enjoy each other’s company. Yunho remembers running through the fields with his cousins for hours before coming inside to a veritable feast of foods they’d only get around Christmastime. 

But then…

Then his father had gotten sick. He was gone by the next Christmas, and his mother and sister had followed him. Then, there was no more Christmas. No more family gatherings, no more feasts, and no more gifts. Just Yunho and his few belongings on a train to Seoul to start a new life.

Yunho shuts his locker and heads into the studio assigned to him. A dozen eager faces look up to greet him as he steps inside, and Yunho feels a warmth wash over him, a warmth not attributed to the thermostat. He greets his class of ten-year-old dancers and they start their warm-ups.

They cool down after class, and Yunho helps each student stretch properly in order to avoid injury. They talk about their upcoming dance recital, about whether or not it will snow tomorrow, and about Christmas. All of the students are incredibly excited about the holiday and talk animatedly about what fun things their parents have planned for their school vacation. 

“What will you be doing on your holiday, Doyoung?” Yunho asks one of the students who hadn’t yet spoken up.

Doyoung looks down shyly. “I’m not sure,” he admits. “My mother will be working and—”

“Working?” another student interrupts. “Who works on Christmas?”

“A lot of people have to work on Christmas,” Yunho informs them. “Some people have very important jobs that don’t stop just because it’s a special day. Doctors and nurses, policemen, and soldiers will all be working on Christmas to ensure that everyone is safe.”

“Isn’t your mom a cleaning lady?” another student jeers. “What’s so important about that?”

Doyoung’s face turns a deep red and he mumbles something indistinctly while the other students laugh at his expense. Thankfully, a chime sounds to announce the end of class and the students all get up to go find their things. Doyoung takes his time rising and lets the other students run ahead.

“Doyoung!” Yunho calls, waving the boy back. “You did a good job today,” he says. “Your form is looking better every class, so I know that you must be practicing at home.”

Doyoung nods shyly, and Yunho continues, “Good. That’s what it will take to become a good dancer: constant practice.”  
“Th-th-thank you, Teacher,” Doyoung stutters in reply.

Yunho pats his shoulder. “I’ll see you next class,” he says. “And Doyoung? Your mother does a very important job. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”

“I won’t, Teacher,” Doyoung says. He bows deeply before skittering off to the student locker rooms. 

Yunho watches as he leaves and his heart hurts. He knows that Doyoung’s mother works constantly to support him and his brother after their father left. He knows that it’s an incredible sacrifice for Doyoung even to be in this dance class, and he wishes he could ease the burden somehow. But Yunho knows he can barely feed himself right now, let alone someone else. The best he can do for Doyoung is hope for some sort of Christmas miracle.  
  
*  
  
“You can’t be serious,” Changmin says in utter disbelief.

“Have you ever known me to lie?” Kangta replies in the same, steady tone as always. In all the years Changmin has known the head angel, he has never once seen Kangta smile, laugh, or show any emotion whatsoever. He is strictly business, which is probably how he got to be in charge of all the angels in the first place.

“Well, no… but…” Changmin stutters. “But _earth_? As a _human_?”

“Might I remind you of the incidents from last week?” Kangta replies sternly. He snaps his fingers and a scroll appears in mid-air next to him. He unrolls the scroll and says, “According to my records, you had four separate incident reports filed against you in one week. _One week!_ Most angels don’t have that many reports filed against them in a _lifetime_.”

“What can I say?” Changmin replies with a shrug. “It was a busy week.”

“Indeed,” Kangta replies. “One incident, we could understand. But four? Four egregious incidents, to be precise.”

“ _Egregious_ might be an exaggeration…” Changmin begins, but Kangta interrupts.

“An exaggeration? You used your powers—the powers given to you for the good of mankind, might I remind you—to change the wind patterns to blow girls’ skirts up, to cause the power to die during the college entrance exams just to ‘see what would happen,’ _and_ you appeared to an _entire tour group_ of elderly travelers who are now telling all of their friends that there are ghosts on Jeju Island.”

“It’s helped tourism?” Changmin tries.

“Not the point,” Kangta replies. “The point is, you have grossly misused your powers and as such, they will be suspended until further notice. You will be sent to earth until you finally understand what your powers are meant for.”

“So I’m taking a class or something?” Changmin scoffs. “Helping some old ladies cross the street? Saving kittens?”

But Kangta simply replies, “Pack your bags, Shim Changmin. You’re in for a very rude awakening.”  
  
*  
  
Thus, Changmin finds himself on the streets of Seoul unable to feel his extremities from the cold. He pulls his scarf up over his nose and ducks his head as another fierce wind threatens to blow his jacket off. He no longer has the supernatural powers he usually used to assuage these situations: he can’t teleport himself, use his wings to keep himself warm, or go back to the clouds and avoid dealing with all of this. 

So instead, he continues walking down the empty streets, cursing under his breath. Everyone else is safe inside their warm houses, and Changmin wishes he could be too. He’s on a mission to find somewhere to stay for the night. He has around 500,000 won in his pocket, but he knows that will go all too fast. Since he doesn’t know long he’ll be stuck on this rock, he needs to make his money last.   
As an angel, it’s easy to ask a human to let you into their home. Most obey instantly, especially if he appears in his proper angel form. Others take a little convincing: a little telekinesis here, a little telepathy there, maybe some water into wine on the side, but they almost always let him in. Now, he’s just some random human, and he knows from experience that hardly anyone will let him stay with them now.

Changmin buys himself a coffee from the 7-Eleven in hopes it will tide him over until he can find a cheap motel for the night. He opens the door to face the cold once again but fails to notice the figure passing in front of the shop. They collide and Changmin’s coffee spills all over the cold ground.

“I’m so sorry!” the other exclaims before Changmin has a chance to react. “Are you alright?”

“Uh,” Changmin replies eloquently. “I guess. Are you?”

He nods. “I’m fine. Sorry, I should’ve watched where I was going. Let me buy you another coffee.” The guy pulls back his hood to reveal a ratty baseball cap hiding dark black hair. 

“It’s fine,” Changmin replies with a shrug. It had tasted like battery acid anyways. “Hey, uh, do you know of a cheap hotel around here? I need a place to crash for the night but I’m… low on funds.”

He thinks for a minute. “If you’re looking for cheap, you’re out of luck,” he says finally. “Most hotels around here will cost you a couple thousand won a night easy.”

“Ah,” Changmin replies. He thinks of the money in his pocket and grimaces. “I guess that’s out then.”

“Sorry, mate,” the other guy says. “The subway stations close pretty soon or else I’d say go there. This time of year, bus terminals usually have heating lamps, but you’ll have to fight for a spot there too. You’re probably better off waiting until morning and napping on the subway once it opens.”

Changmin nods slowly. Sleeping at a bus terminal with a bunch of strangers doesn’t sound like his idea of a good time and he curses Kangta again for sending him down to this miserable place. He thanks the stranger and turns to go, hoping that morning will come quickly, when he hears the other guy call, “Wait.”

Changmin turns to find the guy jogging to catch up with him. “Listen, you can stay at my place tonight. It’s not much, but I think the heat’s still on and..." 


End file.
